Self-diagnostic system for conditioned maintenance of machines operating under intermittent load
First Claim
1. A system for determining the condition of oil in an oil-utilizing machine which has an oil reservoir from which oil is pumped to circulate to various parts of the machine for lubrication thereof, and to which oil is returned when not being circulated, said reservoir being larger than the volume of oil normally utilized to define a head space above the oil in the reservoir, said system-comprising:
- sensor means for sensing the composition of vapor in said head space in said reservoir and for developing a signal representing said composition;
processor means for receiving said signal and for comparing it to predetermined baseline parameters; and
means for producing a discernable indication when the processor means determines that the signal deviates from said predetermined baseline parameters.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for determining the condition of lubricating oil in the oil reservoir of an oil-utilizing mechanism, said system comprising: sensor means for sensing the chemical composition of oil vapor in the head space of the oil reservoir; temperature probes for sensing the temperature of the oil and of the sensor means; microprocessor means connected to the sensor means and temperature probes for creating a vapor signature by means of a pattern recognition algorithm representing the chemical composition of the vapor in the head space; and display means for producing a discernable indication to an operator if the processor means determines that the vapor signature deviates from predetermined baseline parameters. The system is initiated when the oil-utilizing mechanism is shut off, and senses conditions periodically during the cool-down phase of the machine.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A system for determining the condition of oil in an oil-utilizing machine which has an oil reservoir from which oil is pumped to circulate to various parts of the machine for lubrication thereof, and to which oil is returned when not being circulated, said reservoir being larger than the volume of oil normally utilized to define a head space above the oil in the reservoir, said system-comprising:
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sensor means for sensing the composition of vapor in said head space in said reservoir and for developing a signal representing said composition; processor means for receiving said signal and for comparing it to predetermined baseline parameters; and means for producing a discernable indication when the processor means determines that the signal deviates from said predetermined baseline parameters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for determining the condition of lubricating oil in the oil reservoir of an internal combustion engine, said reservoir being larger than the volume of oil normally utilized to define a head space above the oil in the reservoir, said system comprising:
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sensor means having a plurality of sensors, each sensor for directly detecting the concentration of one of a plurality of gaseous-phase lubricating oil degradation products in the head space, and for developing a signal representing said concentrations; pumping means for pumping vapor from the head space of said oil reservoir to the sensor means; a first temperature probe disposed in said oil reservoir for sensing the temperature of the oil and for developing a signal representing said oil temperature; a second temperature probe disposed in said sensor means for sensing the temperature of the sensor means and for developing a signal representing said sensor means temperature; processor means connected to said sensor means and to said first temperature probe and said second temperature probe for receiving said signals and for determining whether the signals correspond to predetermined baseline parameters; and display means for producing a discernable indication to an operator when the processor means determines that the signals deviates from said predetermined baseline parameters. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for monitoring the condition of lubricating oil in an oil-utilizing machine having an oil reservoir from which oil is pumped to circulate to various parts of the mechanism for lubrication thereof and to which oil is returned when not being circulated, said reservoir being larger than the volume of oil normally utilized to define a head space above the oil in the reservoir, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) operating said machine until the lubricating oil reaches at least a standard operating temperature; (b) shutting off the machine; (c) pumping a sample of vapor from the head space of said oil reservoir to a sensor means; (d) sensing the composition of the vapor with the sensor means and developing a signal representing said composition; (e) sensing the temperature of the oil in the oil reservoir and developing a signal representing said oil temperature; (f) sensing the temperature of the sensor means and developing a signal representing said sensor means temperature; (g) processing the signals representing the composition of the vapor, the temperature of the oil, and the temperature of the sensor means, with a processor means for comparison of said signals to predetermined baseline parameters; (h) repeating steps c through g periodically over a time interval approximately equal to the time required for the oil to cool down to an equilibrium temperature with the exterior environment of the oil-utilizing machine, thereby allowing the processor means to calculate a time and temperature based vapor signature representing the condition of the oil for comparison with a predetermined baseline time and temperature based vapor signature, the above steps a through h representing a single operating cycle of the machine; and (i) producing a discernable indication to an operator when the processor means determines that the time and temperature based vapor signature deviates from said predetermined baseline time and temperature based vapor signature. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A system for determining the condition of oil in an oil-utilizing machine which has an oil reservoir from which oil is pumped to circulate to various parts of the machine for lubrication thereof, and to which oil is returned when not being circulated, said reservoir being larger than the volume of oil normally utilized to define a head space above the oil in the reservoir, said system comprising:
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a sensor configured for sensing the composition of vapor in said head space in said reservoir and for developing a signal representing said composition; and a processor configured for receiving said signal and for comparing it to predetermined baseline parameters to determine the condition of the oil. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification